Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am raising the urgent need to locate a Gallium PET CT scanning machine in Cork. Gallium scans are essential for the detection of tumours for certain types of cancers. I have been contacted by many patients with neuro-endocrine cancer. Neuro-endocrine tumours are rare tumours of the neuro-endocrine system, which is the system in the body that produces hormones. Gallium scans are essential for the detection of tumours for this type of cancer. There are no Gallium scans available in the south of the country or in the Munster region. It is my understanding that Gallium scans are only available in the greater Dublin area, with St. Vincent's University Hospital being the main centre for accessing these scans. Patients in the Munster region are waiting up to 18 months to get their first Gallium scan. Will the Minister of State provide an update on the number of people currently waiting for a Gallium scan? Will he outline whether funding has been allocated for the provision of a scanning machine in Cork or elsewhere in the Munster region? Will he comment on whether an application for funding has even been made?

I want to read two excerpts from correspondence from patients who have contacted me. It is important to read them into the record. The first patient wrote:

In the past I have had to travel from Cork to Sweden to get this scan. I thought that the availability of Gallium scans in St. Vincent's University Hospital would mean there would no longer be a reason for me to make this long journey to Sweden. Unfortunately I have had to wait 18 months to get my first Gallium scan in Dublin.

The second patient wrote:

I had a neuro-endocrine tumour removed from my ilium about six years ago in Cork. Since then I have very regular monitoring. I consider myself very lucky to have been in Australia on a visitor visa for the past couple of years and have been able to have a Gallium scan as needed. In fact I was in Sydney, visiting family, a year ago. A year after surgery I was able to have a Gallium scan before I went back to Ireland. When I return home to Ireland I am very worried about the fact that there is only one scanner and it is in Dublin. If my oncologist feels I need one I expect to have to wait months and then travel to Dublin. There is excellent care available in Cork under my own oncologist. Surely the next step is to provide a scanner in Cork.

I have read those two extracts, both of which relate to cases in which people are travelling abroad, because there are very long waiting lists for the facility in Dublin. If the Minister of State has any update on whether an application for funding for the same has been made for Cork, I would appreciate it.

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